Rhode Island lab reveals results of DNA test for Santa, reindeer
(WJAR) — The results are in! Budding detective Scarlett Doumato is on a mission to see if Santa Claus is real.
The 10-year-old captured the attention of those across Rhode Island after she sent a letter to the Cumberland police, requesting a DNA test on a sample of a cookie and carrots she left for Santa Claus and the reindeer.
Excited to see the girl's curiosity, Cumberland police put together an evidence packet and sent it to the State Forensic Unit for testing.
Scarlett told NBC 10 News in a previous interview she watches crime shows and thinks it would be cool to be a detective.
The Rhode Island Department of Health said the case was prioritized and the Forensic Biology Lab worked on the DNA analysis of the cookies.
The lab said the DNA unfortunately did not match anyone in the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, which is used to identify DNA matches in cold cases.
But, not all hope is lost.
"Interestingly, there was a partial match to a 1947 case centered around the 34th street in New York City," the Department of Health said.
The department said more DNA samples from other known Santa encounters would be needed to make a more definitive match.
More testing of the partially eaten carrots and cookies found the presence of DNA matching with Rangifer tarandus, otherwise known as reindeer.
"While our laboratory was able to apply the most current and technologically advanced methods to solving this case, we aren't able to definitively confirm or refute the presence of Santa at your home," the Department of Health said in a release.
Last week, Scarlett's mom asked her what she would like the outcome to be in which Scarlett replied, "That he's real."
NBC 10's R.J. Heim contributed to this report.